Young Justice: Inheritance
by RedHood19
Summary: Set over sixteen years into the future, the children of the Team have decided to restart the Team. Will the heirs to some of the world's greatest heroes have what it takes to follow in their parents' footsteps? (Wally returned after 18 months). Couples are Chalant, Spitfire, Wonderbird, CheshRoy, MalxKaren, KaldurxLorena(DC comics), BabsxOC, slight Arrowpulse, mention Supermartian
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, new story. I have now joined the ranks of next gen fics. I have not given up on New Year's Romance, a new chapter will be coming out later this week. I've just had this idea for a few months now and decided to try to write it and was pleased enough to publish. Hope you enjoy. Please Review.**

* * *

_Chicago - May 26 2032_

Maria Grayson walked through the front door of the Grayson household. She had just gotten off the school bus and was ready for a snack.

"Mom, I'm home," the twelve-year-old girl announced as she walked to the kitchen.

"I'm out back muffin," Zatanna Grayson responded. Maria quickly grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and dropped her bag by the breakfast table before going outside onto the patio.

"Mom, how many times have I asked you to stop calling me that," Maria complained after she had given her mother a kiss hello. She noticed her little brother Ethan playing with their dog, Fuzzy. Zatanna worked at the same school that Ethan went to and so brought him home every day. Maria on the other hand was in Junior High and had specifically asked her mother not to pick her up.

"I know, but you used to love it," Zatanna replied, "Besides I bought a muffin for you on my way back from work."

"Thanks Mom," Maria said as she sat down across from her mother.

"My pleasure, muffin" the first grade teacher said with a smile on her face, "We're having pork chops for dinner tonight - Ethan be careful - and your father is coming back from Gotham tonight."

"I don't understand why Daddy has to fly to Gotham and stay there," Maria began, "When he could just use the Zeta Tubes."

"Maria, you know that if your father arrived in Gotham by Zeta people would be suspicious," Zatanna said.

"Yeah yeah," Maria responded, "I'm going to watch some TV."

"Fine but only one episode then homework," Zatanna called after her daughter, "You've got that Human Studies assignment due."

"Sure thing Mom."

* * *

Maria was sitting at the dining room table trying to work on her Human Studies assignment. She had to write an essay about who she was and what she wanted to be later in life. It was such a boring assignment.

"Maria," Zatanna said as she walked towards the front door, "I'm going to pick up Gio from mathletics practice and then run some errands, watch your brother."

"Sure thing Mom," Maria responded.

Maria turned back to her assignment. She stared at the blank screen, searching for an answer but she found nothing. So she started on some other homework due later in the week.

Thirty-five minutes later she had still made no progress with the Human Studies but had finished her only other assignment due the next day. That's when Ethan walked.

"Mar, I'm bored," Ethan said, "Do you wanna do something like watch a movie or play a video game?" Fuzzy had decided it was time to take a nap.

"I'm sorry Ethan but I can't" Maria replied, "I've got to do homework."

"You stink," Ethan said, but he was very bored so he decided to stick around, "What class is it for?"

"Human Studies, now leave me alone," Maria told her brother, "Don't you have homework to do?"

"I finished before you got home," Ethan responded.

"Damn why are you and Gio so smart?" Maria complained, "Honestly if I didn't know any better I'd think Uncle Tim was your father."

"Come on Mar, you're smart too," Ethan said trying to cheer up his older sister. It was true that Ethan and Gio had very little difficulty in school while Maria had to work harder than both of them, "You're really good with helping Gio and me. I mean you always know how to make us feel better."

"You're right," Maria said before ruffling Ethan's hair, "Thanks Ethan."

"I'm going downstairs," Ethan said as he left.

Maria went back to work immediately, finally finding motivation to complete the assignment. Her fingers flew across the holo-keys; most of her classmates used the speech recog but Maria preferred using the holo-keys, it helped her think. She finished the essay within twenty minutes, just as her mother and little brother walked through the front door carrying groceries.

"Hey Mar," Gio said, "Mom I'm going to go do homework."

"Good, I'll be working on dinner," Zatanna replied.

Gio and Maria both walked upstairs. Maria walked into her room while Gio headed to his. She went to go sit down on her bed and activated the voice chat function on her holo-comp, holographic computer, and initiated a call to her cousin Leah.

"Hey," Leah answered after the second ring.

"Hey Leah," Maria said.

"So did you ask your Dad yet?" Leah asked.

"No," Maria replied, "He hasn't got back from his business trip yet. You should know he was in Gotham."

"Yeah," Leah said, "I thought he'd be back by now though."

"He's probably driving here as we speak," Maria said, "What about you? What did Uncle Tim and Aunt Cassie say?"

"Well, at first my Dad was like, 'no way', but then Mom talked to him," Leah told her older cousin, "After that they both said yes. I hope Uncle Dick says yes."

"So do I," Maria agreed, "It'd be so crash to be superheroes."

"Totally crash," Leah said.

The two girls continued talking for five minutes or so before Zatanna called for dinner.

"Maria, time for dinner," Zatanna called, "It's your turn to set the table."

"Coming Mom," Maria called back, "I'll call you later Leah, after I've asked."

"Good," Leah said and then Maria hung up.

Maria walked down the stairs and checked the garage for her father's car, but it wasn't there. Then she walked to the kitchen to take out the dishes and silverware.

"Is Daddy going to be here for dinner?" Maria asked her mother.

"He said he'd be here in five minutes," Zatanna replied as she pulled the potatoes out of the oven.

"Okay," Maria said, "Elbat tes flesrouy." The plates and silverware floated over to the dining room and set themselves up perfectly.

"Maria, what did we say about magic?" Zatanna said slightly annoyed but also amused by her daughter's use of magic. It reminded her of when she was younger and would do the same thing.

"Magic can only be used in the basement and on the third floor," Maria recited.

"So you do remember," Zatanna joked. She then kissed her daughter on the forehead, "Put the glasses out yourself."

"Yes Mom," Maria responded. She took five glasses out of the cupboard and walked over to the dinner table. She started placing the glasses having placed four when she heard a sound coming from the garage. A few seconds later the door to the garage opened and Dick Grayson walked through it.

"I'm home," Dick announced.

"Daddy!" Maria exclaimed as she put the last glass down and ran to hug her father.

"Hey monkey," Dick greeted his daughter. He hugged her tightly. Ethan and Gio both rushed to the foyer to greet their father, "Well if it isn't my little ninja and my little Merlin."

"Dinner's ready!" Zatanna called from the kitchen. Ethan rushed to the dinner table, although he was the youngest Grayson, being only eight years old, he often ate more than his siblings; Dick joked with Zatanna that he was like his godfather in that sense. The other Grayson children took their time getting to the table.

"Hey there Zee," Dick said as he kissed his beautiful wife on the cheek.

"Welcome home, Handsome," Zatanna responded, kissing her husband fully on the lips. It was a passionate kiss, maybe a little too passionate for the kids.

"Yuck," Ethan said loudly. Zatanna pulled back and gave her husband a suggestive wink before turning back to the table.

"So Dad," Gio began, "How was Gotham? Was it a productive trip?"

"Yes it was Gio," Dick replied. The ten-year-old was always very interested in his father's business ventures, "Plus I saw Grandpa Bruce, Uncle Tim and Aunt Barbara."

"What did you talk about with Uncle Tim?" Maria asked, wanting to know if her father had talked about what she had discussed with Leah earlier that day.

"We were just talking about how big all of you are getting," Dick said as he looked to Ethan, "Grandpa Bruce asked me to tell you guys that he loves you."

The rest of dinner was daily routine. Everybody talked about how their week had been and when that was over, Gio and Dick got into a heated discussion. They usually had discussions at dinner that covered a variety of topics stretching from math and science to ethics and politics. The others rarely participated in these discussions, with Ethan usually just eating his food while Maria and Zatanna would have less intense conversations.

When dinner was over, Gio cleared the table with the help of his mother while Ethan headed to his room with Fuzzy. Dick went to his office and Maria headed to the bathroom. Maria looked at herself in the mirror.

"Come on Maria," Maria told herself, "You can do this. Just ask him. Come on."

She quickly washed her hands and splashed her face before leaving the bathroom. She walked over to her father's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Dick said.

"Daddy," Maria said as she opened the door and walked into the office, "I have something I want to ask you."

"What is it monkey?" Dick asked as he turned away from the holo-comp and turned to face his daughter.

"I was talking to the others and we... umm..." Maria hesitated, "We want to restart the Team."

No," Dick responded flatly, "That is out of the question."

"But Daddy, please," Maria pleaded.

"No Maria," Dick replied, "You are too young and it's not safe."

"But you were younger than I was when you became Robin," Maria argued.

"I had just lost everything in the world," Dick replied, "I needed to become Robin. You don't."

"But Daddy-" Maria tried to say.

"Enough," Dick raised his voice as he got out of his chair, "You will not be joining the Team Maria. That's final. Now go to your room."

"I HATE YOU!" Maria yelled as she stomped out of the office, "Mals eht rood!" Maria continued to stomp all the way to her room.

Dick sat back down and turned to the holo-comp, then he heard the door open again. He turned towards the door to see his wife, and she was not happy.

"Dick," Zatanna said sternly, "We need to talk."

"Not right now Zee," Dick replied, "I have work to do."

"Richard Grayson you will listen to me," Zatanna said firmly. Dick turned back to his wife as she closed the door, "Maria is _our _child which makes this _our _decision, not yours."

"Zatanna she's-" Dick began but never finished.

"I said you will listen," Zatanna snapped, "Maria is old enough to be on the Team, besides you know what she's like. If we don't let her do this she'll do it by herself. This way we'll be able to train her, make sure she is not in over her head."

"But Zee," Dick said softly, "She's my little girl. She's not ready."

"Dick, she has her magic to help her," Zatanna said before reassuringly hugging her husband, "I know she's your little girl but she's old enough to make this decision."

"Okay, I guess you're right," Dick acceded, "But we need to put down some ground rules."

"I agree," Zatanna said.

* * *

Maria was in her room, angrily hitting the air around her, blowing off steam. _'Leah's allowed to join and she's a year younger than I am,' _Maria thought as she punched the air, _'But she has super strength.'_ She continued to blow off steam until she was panting. She walked over to her bed and sat down. She prepared the holo-comp to call Leah when someone knocked on the door.

"Maria," Dick said calmly, "Can I come in?"

"Leave me alone!" Maria yelled.

"Come on monkey please?" Dick pleaded, "I just want to talk."

"Kcolnu eht rood," Maria murmured.

"Thank you," Dick said as he opened the door. He walked over to the bed and sat down next to Maria. When he tried to put his hand on her shoulder, she shrugged it off and scooched away,

"Maria are you gonna talk to me?" He was met with silence, "Fine I'll talk. Maria you're my little girl, my little monkey. I worry about you all the time and I just couldn't allow myself to willingly put you in harm's way. I talked to your mother and she pointed out that you can take care of yourself," He took a deep breath, "Which is why we decided you could join the Team." Maria turned around and threw her arms around her father.

"Thank you Daddy," Maria said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"We just have some ground rules," Dick said, "One, you will only join the Team, no patrolling Chicago. Two, you will keep up your grades up, you slack at all and you're off the Team. Three, you have to go to every training session unless your mother or I say you don't. Four, on top of these training sessions you will train an extra four hours on the weekend, two with me, two with your mother. If you break any of these rules you are off the Team, do you understand?"

"Yes Daddy," Maria nodded, "I love you Daddy."

"I love you too monkey," Dick said before giving her a kiss on the forehead, "Now go downstairs and thank your mother."

Maria jumped off the bed and ran downstairs. Dick smiled to himself. Ethan, who had just taken Fuzzy downstairs, walked into Maria's room.

"Daddy," Ethan said, "Why is Maria so happy?"

"She's going to join the Team," Dick said with a smile.

"Can I join too?" Ethan said with a huge smile. Ethan alone of Dick's children had inherited his smile, in fact Ethan was almost a carbon copy of his father, the only difference being his hair color which he got from his mother.

"No, you can't Ethan," Dick said as he picked his youngest son up and carried him piggyback style.

"Okay then," Ethan accepted. Dick smiled once again at how easily his son accepted what his father said.

"Now it's time for ninjas to go to bed," Dick said.

"Never," Ethan said as he jumped off of Dick's back. Ethan was the most acrobatic of the Grayson children while Giovanni was the least. Maria was more of a wild card, with some magic and some acrobatic skill.

Ethan ran away, heading for the master bedroom. Dick chased him but Ethan was fast. The youngest Grayson jumped onto the bed followed by his father.

"Let's see how ninjas do against tickle monsters," Dick said as he began to tickle Ethan. Ethan laughed for a while and then when Dick finally hit Ethan's most ticklish spot he let out a little yelp.

"Dick," Zatanna called from downstairs, "It's time for bed."

"Mom is right," Dick said, "It's time for little ninjas to go to sleep."

"Okay," Ethan said as he lifted his arms and Dick carried him to his room, "Can you read me a story?" Although Ethan knew how to read, and did so often in his free time, he liked the voices his father would make when reading the stories.

"Fine but only after you brush your teeth and get in bed," Dick said. Ethan rushed off to his bed to get his pyjamas. While Ethan got ready for bed Dick went to visit his other son.  
Giovanni Grayson was different from his siblings, mainly because he wasn't very athletic, instead excelling in academics. Although only ten he could read at a ninth grade reading level. Another factor that separated from his siblings is that he was the closest one to his mother, mainly because of his gift with magic.

Dick found Gio reading a book, like every night. Tonight it was Ender's Game, one of Dick's favorite when he had been growing up.

"What do you think?" Dick asked.

"I like it a lot," Gio answered, "Especially Ender's mastery of the Zero Gravity game."

"Yeah I love that too," Dick said as he sat down next to his son, "You know this was my favorite book as a kid."

"I know," Gio answered, "That's why I started reading it." Dick smiled, it meant so much to him, probably more than Gio knew.

"Well, finish your chapter then lights out okay?" Dick said.

"Yeah," Gio replied as his father kissed him on both cheeks. Dick walked to the door.

"Good night my little Merlin," Dick said.

"G'night Dad," Gio responded.

* * *

**I hope it was up to standard. Please review if you want me to continue. Ideas for OC villains are welcome, just give me a description of abilities, appearance and if possible motivations. Constructive criticism is not only welcomed but encouraged.**


	2. Chapter 2

**All right thanks for the review on the last chapter. So some important notes for timeline purposes. This story assumes that Tim and Cassie were 16 during Season 2 and that Lian was born two years later, in 2017.**

**What happened to Wally is that he 'sort of' died and went to the Speed Force were he met Max Mercury. He spent weeks learning how to unlock his true potential before coming back. When he did he found out 18 months had passed so he decided to not reveal his presence until a near death experience made him come back.**

**Anyway so that explains that. Enjoy.**

* * *

_Mount Justice - May 29 2032_

Recognized Nightwing, Two Eight, Access Granted Maria Grayson, A Two Four, Authorization Nightwing Two Eight

Maria and her father stepped out of the Zeta Tubes and into the main chamber of the Cave. Mount Justice had been rebuilt ten years after the event that had destroyed it as a safehouse or backup headquarters. It had rarely been used by the League so they decided that history should repeat itself and that the new Team should have its headquarters there.

Maria looked around the room to see a number of Leaguers as well as other soon-to-be members of the Team. She could see Leah, who had a huge grin on her face as he waved frantically to her, with her father, Tim, who was in his Red Robin uniform. Maria turned her head to the left and could see her Uncles Kaldur and Roy, who like Tim were also in uniform as Manta and Red Arrow, talking while their children, Jalen and Lian, were looking around the room. Jalen was very much like his father having inherited his father's composure, while Lian was more like her mother, always up for a little mischief. On the other side of the room stood Uncle Mal, wearing his Guardian uniform, and his son Miles.

Maria and Dick walked over to Leah and Tim. The adoptive brothers greeted each other the way they usually did, with a simple nod.

"Hey Mar!" Leah said excitedly as she started to float centimeters off the ground.

"Hey Leah," Maria responded, "Can you come back down?"

"Sorry," Leah said with a light blush, "It happens when I get excited."

"Yeah yeah," Maria was used to her cousin's antics, "Are you ready to become superheroes?"

"I've only been waiting for about-" Leah paused and then excitedly continued, "Ten years."

"Yeah same," Maria agreed, "Is Cal here yet?"

"No not yet," Leah said with a cheeky smile, "Why? You miss him?"

"Come on Leah," Maria said, not even slightly flustered, "You know it's not like that. Cal and I are best friends, nothing more."

"I thought I was your best friend," Leah said playfully, she enjoyed teasing her cousin. Besides it was an easy way to shift the attention away from her.

"You are," Maria said then took something from her father's playbook, "My best girl friend."

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Leah said.

_Recognized Artemis, Three Two, Access Granted Cal West, A Two Three, Authorization Artemis Three Two, Access Granted Abby West, A Two Five, Authorization Artemis Three Two_

"Sorry," Artemis apologized, "The kids are just like Wally, never ready to go." The kids all laughed and Dick smiled.

"Good so we're all here," Nightwing said, "It's time to begin. Could all of the kids please stand over there," He pointed to a spot across from him as the other Leaguers walked towards him, "So welcome to Mount Justice, the Cave. You have all decided to follow in our footsteps and become superheroes. And since you are following in our footsteps you will have to abide by the same rules we did. I will be your supervisor and assign you missions; Artemis, Red Robin and I will be your instructors in hand-to-hand combat. Every week you must attend at least one the training sessions. You don't train, you don't go on missions that simple.

"You will also need to learn how to use your abilities strategically. Manta has offered to help those with super-strength and Flash those with super-speed. The most important thing to remember though is that you are a team, as such you will need to learn to trust each other and work together. Rivalries are normal and they will be tolerated in the Cave but in the field they have to be put aside. In time you will need to choose a leader, remember the leader is not necessarily the smartest person, or the strongest, it is the person who can rally you together and get you to work as a team. That is it for now, I will give you more details later but for now explore the Cave and maybe come up with codenames."

The members of the Team left the main chamber as they started to explore. They instantly grouped themselves into their usual groups, Cal and Maria, Abby and Leah, Miles and Lian, and then Jalen sort of drifting between the groups.

"They have no idea what they're in for," Red Robin said.

"They'll find out soon enough," Artemis responded.

* * *

The new Team were lounging in the living after having finished exploring the Cave. They were having their own private conversations.

"So," Leah said loudly getting everyone's attention, "Codenames. Any ideas? I think I'll go with Wonder Girl, follow in my Mom's footsteps. What you Cal?"

"I don't know," Cal responded, "Probably Kid Flash."

"Dammit," Abby swore, "That's what I wanted to use."

"I think Impulse would be better for you," Lian said, "What with you being so hyper all the time."

"You're right," Abby said. She suddenly stood up and slowly panned her arm as she said, "Impulse, I like it."

"So what about you Lian?" Maria asked, "Speedy?"

"Ugh no never," Lian answered, "I think I'll steal Aunt Artemis' old name."

"What old name?" Abby asked.

"Tigress," Lian replied.

"It suits you," Cal said, "What about you Miles?"

"I don't know," Miles replied, "I was thinking of something related to Bumblebee because of my powers and the only thing I could think of was Wasp, which is so moded."

"Totally," Leah said.

"What about Hornet?" Maria offered.

"Nah," Miles dismissed the idea, "'Hornet saved the day once again.' It just doesn't sound right." Jalen mumbled something that nobody heard, nobody except for Abby.

"What was that Jalen?" Abby asked. Everyone looked at the young Atlantean. Jalen was the youngest one there, being only eleven, and didn't really fit in with any of the others.

"Yellowjacket," Jalen said slightly louder.

"Yellowjacket," Miles repeated, "Yellowjacket, I love it. It's perfect, thanks Jay." Jalen picked his head up a little bit and smiled, as did Abby.

"So what about you Jalen?" Abby asked, "Gonna go with Aqualad?"

"I think so," Jalen replied.

"That only leaves Maria," Leah said, "So what's it gonna be Mar? Robin?"

"No, I don't think so," Maria answered, "It doesn't really fit."

"What do you mean?" Lian asked.

"Robin has never had powers," Maria answered, "And since I do, I don't think I should use it."

"So what then?" Cal asked.

"I don't know maybe something related to both birds and magic," Maria said.

"Phoenix!" Leah exclaimed, "What about Phoenix?"

"Nah, too much fire imagery," Maria rejected.

"So what then?" Abby asked.

Maria tried to think about magical birds but to no avail. That is until she had a flashback to when she was three.

* * *

_Flashback_

Little Maria was lying in her bed waiting for her Daddy to come read her a story. Little Gio had been crying for over an hour now and Dick was trying to calm his son down. Zatanna had always been better with little Gio, she was able to get him to sleep in second but Zatanna was on a mission with the League, so Dick had to handle his baby son.

Maria could feel her eyes closing as she started to fall asleep. She tried to stay awake which, when you're three, was done by holding your eyes open. Just as she was about to fall asleep Dick came into the room. Suddenly awake Maria motioned to her father. He came over and hugged her tightly before asking what he asked every night.

"Does my little monkey want a bedtime story?" Dick asked knowing full well the answer.

"Yes," Maria mumbled as she nodded her head frantically.

"And which story does the little monkey want?" Dick asked, again knowing exactly what her answer would be.

"Nightnightgale," Maria said. Dick adored the way that Maria couldn't pronounce nightingale correctly, and the way that it was befitting a bedtime story.

"Okay okay so how does it begin again," Dick pretended to forget.

"A long long long time ago," Maria said as she stretched her arms further and further apart to show how long ago.

"Yes yes," Dick said, "A long long long time ago in China, there was an emperor. This emperor had the most beautiful garden in the whole wide world. And he was very pleased with himself and his garden until he heard a merchant talking to a traveller. '_The emperor has the most beautiful garden in the world_,' the merchant said. '_That he does indeed,_' the traveller agreed, '_But when I was travelling North I saw something more beautiful than the emperor's garden._' The merchant was intrigued by this claim as was the emperor, '_What could be more beautiful than emperor's garden? _' the merchant asked. '_A nightingale,_' the traveller answered. '_A nightingale? _' The merchant and the emperor repeated. '_Yes a nightingale._'

* * *

"Nightingale," Maria said, "My name is Nightingale."

_Could all members of the Team come to the mission room._

The newly named heroes stood up and walked to the central chamber. When they got there they saw the Leaguers standing in a line. Nightwing stepped towards them activating the mission room's holo-comp.

"This is when you get your designations," Nightwing told the young heroes, "Once you have these designations you will be able to use Zeta Tubes without a Leaguer present. As the Team was disbanded nine years ago we will be restarting all B designations from zero. Let's do this in age order, so Lian please," Lian stepped forward and was scanned by the holo-comp, "Your name please?"

"Tigress," Lian answered. Artemis smiled slightly.

"Okay, Lian you are B Zero One," Nightwing said, "Next." Miles stepped forward and was scanned.

"Yellowjacket," Miles said.

"You are B Zero Two," Nightwing said. Cal stepped forward without needing to be called on.

"Kid Flash," Cal said as he was scanned. He then stepped back and Maria stepped up.

"Nightingale," Maria said as she was scanned. Dick smiled, remembering the days when he would tell her the story of the 'nightnightgale' every night. He realized how much he missed those days.

"Wonder Girl," Leah said breaking Nightwing out of his stray thought. He looked up and then remembered to hit the button that initiated the scan. Maria looked to her father to see a small tear dripping down his face.

"Next," Nightwing said.

"Impulse," Abby said. She was standing ready to be scanned but the holo-comp flashed.

"Error," the holo-comp said.

"Abby you have to stand still," Nightwing said. Everyone realized that Abby had been vibrating with excitement, and when they realized this they all laughed.

"Got it," Abby said, "Sorry." As she walked back to the others and Jalen stepped forward, he gave her a small smile and she smiled back.

"Aqualad," Jalen said confidently. Kaldur smiled, proud of his son. He knew that Jalen was shy, especially with these kids because he spent most of his time in Poseidonis and didn't know the others as well as they knew each other.

"So," Nightwing said when Jalen had gotten back in line with the others, "You are now officially members of the Team."

* * *

_Chicago - May 30 2032_

It was Sunday, a beautiful Sunday at that, and so the Graysons decided to have a family barbecue. And by family they meant extended family. They had invited the families of all the members of the Team, over for the celebratory barbecue. They were the best equipped after all, they had a large house and most importantly, since speedsters were involved, a large paycheck. Zatanna had spent the morning with the kids shopping for food. Ethan ran around pointing at foods that only the children would like while Gio and Maria were much more helpful. Maria helped by taking a second cart to reduce the workload. While they were shopping Dick was setting up the tables needed to seat close to thirty people as well as the second grill.

When Zatanna and the kids got home Dick had already set the table for 27 people, not sure if Jade would show up, sometimes she did sometimes she didn't, nobody ever knew not even Roy. Zatanna closed the garage door and nodded to Maria and Gio who smiled.

"Yrrac eht seirecorg otni eht esouh," the two magician children said at the same time. Four bags floated out of the trunk of the SUV, through the garage and into the kitchen. Ethan grunted as he picked up a grocery bag, this was one of those moments he envied his siblings. It was rare for Ethan to wish he had magic, he liked being the different one, besides it made him more like his father, his hero. But when they could save energy and time by using magic for chores that's when he envied them.

"All right," Zatanna said, "Let's get started, they'll be here in less than an hour." She and Maria went to work in the kitchen, Maria was baking, one of her hobbies, while Zatanna was making potato and pasta salads. Ethan and Gio went to cleaning the house and preparing the basement for the kids.

After an hour, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Ethan yelled as he ran up the stairs. He opened the door to the Drakes, "Hey Uncle Tim."

"Hey buddy," Tim said, "Where's your father?"

"He's outside," Ethan replied, "Hey Aunt Cassie."

"Hey Ethan," Cassie said, "Your mother in the kitchen? I have some homemade iced tea for her." Ethan nodded in reply.

"Mar, Leah's here," Ethan called, "Hey Jason, Gio and I were playing downstairs wanna join?"

"Sure," Jason said as he followed Ethan downstairs.

People arrived over time, first it was the Karen and Mal with their three kids Miles, Lucy and Chloe; then Kaldur, his wife Lorena, and Jalen; and lastly Roy and Lian. They always followed the same pattern: the kids all went downstairs and the parents outside. Twenty minutes after Roy and Lian arrived, they decided to eat, no longer willing to wait for the West family. As they began to sit the doorbell rang again.

"That's probably Wally," Dick said, "I'll get it." He walked to the door to see Wally with an apologetic grin on his face.

"Sorry we're late," Wally said. Dick looked to Artemis who looked so annoyed that he laughed.

"It's fine," Dick responded, "We all expected it. We were just about to eat."

"Ah thank God, I'm starving," Wally said.

"Wally, you just ate a meatball sub on the drive over," Artemis said. She was amused by her husband's antics whereas she had once, long ago, been disgusted.

"So I had a nibble," Wally said.

Dick, Wally, Artemis and the five Grayson children walked out back. Wally and Artemis greeted their friends and walked over to the adult side of the table as four of the West children went to join the other children. Cal sat next to Maria; Abby sat next to Leah; Luke, the third West child, sat next to Gio; and Ian sat next to Ethan. Zoe, the youngest West child, was still holding her mother's hand. Zoe was six years old, two years younger than the second youngest child, and as such rarely left her mother's side.

"Finally we can begin," Roy joked.

"Jade not coming?" Artemis asked her brother-in-law.

"You know how it is," Roy replied, and Artemis did.

"All right so everybody dig in," Dick said, "We have hot dogs, burgers, ribs and chicken wings. There's a limit of six burgers per speedster." All the kids laughed, at least those that weren't speedsters did.

They all started eating, some had better manners like Kaldur and his family, while others had terrible manners namely Wally, Cal and Abby.

"Wally behave yourself," Artemis said sternly. Wally smiled apologetically in response, "You sometimes it's like I have six kids."

"Mom can I go to the bathroom?" Ian asked.

"Sure thing sweetheart," Artemis answered, "Okay maybe five but one of them is Wally." Dick cackled.

Although Ian was a speedster he was different from his siblings and his father, in fact Ethan ate more like a speedster than Ian did.

"Ethan slow down," Zatanna called from across the table. Ethan grinned with barbecue sauce covering his face.

It was halfway through the meal when Jade came. The look of relief on Roy's face was unmistakable, he really loved her but he had no idea to get her to stay home. The others welcomed her to the table and Zatanna went to get her a plate. The rest of the meal was uneventful.

After they ate brownies and cookies, baked by Maria, the kids left the table and went their separate ways. Ethan and Ian went into the backyard to play with Fuzzy; Gio, Luke and Jason went downstairs to play video games and pool; and Chloe and Lucy went to the pool. Jalen was getting ready to read his book as the other members of the Team went inside.

"Jalen you coming?" Maria asked from the doorway. Jalen surprised at the invitation hesitated, "Come on, we're a team now."

"Sure," Jalen answered as he stood up and followed the others. Kaldur and Lorena gave each other a meaningful look. Their son was shy and didn't interact with others very much instead choosing to study. They were both glad that he was starting to engage with the other children.

The older kids headed up to the top floor where there was a guest room as well as a lounge area. They sat down and began to talk while Maria went back downstairs. When she came back up she was holding a bottle of ginger ale and plastic champagne glasses. As they each got a glass and sat down, Miles stood up.

"I propose a toast," Miles said, "To the future generation of superheroes, to the Team. To us."

"Cheers," They all said.

* * *

The old heroes were sitting outside watching the kids that were outside play. They were eating the cake that Artemis had brought, Wally had his own.

"This is nice," Karen said.

"That it is," Kaldur said as he kissed his wife.

"When was the last time we did this?" Cassie asked.

"You mean all of us?" Dick asked, Cassie nodded in reply, "I think it was last year."

"Yes," Artemis agreed, "When Conner and M'gann visited from New Krypton."

"That was their first visit since they moved there in 2020," Zatanna said, "And they brought their kids Zara and..."

"K'aldor," Lorena finished, "K'aldor-El."

"Yeah that was it," Zatanna said.

"Do you remember when we used to this back when we were teens?" Mal asked.

"That was a long time ago," Roy answered as he brought Jade in closer.

* * *

**Hope you liked it. Please Review and remember OC villains please. OC heroes are harder to integrate into my complex dynamic. But I'll try if I really like them.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I know I know and I'm sorry for how late this chapter is and that it is mainly a filler chapter. This chapter was extremely difficult to write but needed to be written. The next chapter ****_should_**** be up soon but I make no promises. Anyway please enjoy.**

* * *

Happy Harbor - June 10 2032

The young members of the Team had been training for two weeks now, and they realized that it was much harder work than they had anticipated. Every one of their instructors pushed them as far as they could go, telling them that they needed to be prepared for every situation. They told them of missions that went on for extended periods of time with little sleep, food or water, using Bialya as an example. The Team had found out how glad they were that they each had their own room and, more importantly, a bed. They would each take a nap after training and then Maria and some other person, usually Cal, would make dinner for everyone.

As they sat eating the spaghetti bolognaise that Maria had made, they had their usual conversation, when they would get their first assignment.

"When do you think we'll go on our first mission?" Leah asked.

"I hope it's soon," Abby added.

"I don't know," Miles said, "I'll guess they'll send us out on our first mission when they think we're ready."

"You know we could always go on our own mission," Lian said.

"Yeah," Cal agreed.

"We should wait for Nightwing to assign us one," Maria said. Jalen nodded.

"Besides, most of us don't even have costumes," Miles added, "I mean Cal is really the only one who has one."

"So," Cal responded, "We make costumes."

"Yeah it won't be so hard," Abby said.

"That's easy for you to say," Maria said, "You already have some base design."

"Yeah," Miles agreed, "Maria and I have to start from scratch."

"Well not completely," Leah pointed out, "You have a basic color palette."

"So basically Maria is the only one who has to start from scratch," Cal added.

"Yeah thanks for that Cal," Maria said annoyed. Cal just gave his best friend a wink.

"Come on Maria," Abby comforted, "I can help you out." Abby was by far the most artistic one in the room. She spent most of her time drawing anywhere she could, she even doodled on the napkins at dinner.

"Thanks Abs," Maria said. Abby stood up and walked towards the magician, "What are you doing?"

"We should get started right now," Abby replied as she took Maria's hand and started dragging her towards her room, "You never know when we might get our first mission."

* * *

Chicago - June 10 2032

Dick, Wally, Artemis and Zatanna were eating dinner in the city. Both couples had gotten babysitters for their younger children while their eldest were at the Cave. They enjoyed going out for a double date night once a month and just getting away from the children.

"We should come here more often babe," Wally said as he finished the third bread basket. Artemis smiled.

"Fine when you make as much money as Dick we can come here every week," Artemis joked. Zatanna and Dick laughed while Wally just pouted.

"So how are the kids?" Zatanna asked.

"The kids are fantastic," Wally replied.

"Well sort of," Artemis added.

"What do you mean?" Zatanna asked.

"Well Ian is-" Artemis began.

"Nothing is wrong with Ian," Wally said sternly.

"No no of course not," Artemis acceded, it was rare for Wally to get stern but when it came to criticizing Ian he had little tolerance, "It's just he doesn't really have any friends, I mean besides Ethan. He just spends his time alone. He and Luke won't stop fighting and I can't connect with him."

"Oh that is hard," Zatanna said softly as she put her hand on her best friend's.

"Yeah," Artemis said as she wiped a tear from her cheek, "I don't know hot to talk to my son." Wally pulled her in for a hug as she sobbed quietly. Dick and Zatanna sat silently, holding hands under the table, as Wally whispered words of comfort into Artemis' ear.

A few minutes later, Artemis had stopped crying.

"Sorry about that," Artemis said.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Zatanna comforted. They went back into an awkward silence.

"So," Dick said, "How are Cal and Abby taking to the training?"

"They're liking it," Wally replied, "Abby won't stop talking about it, she's really excited to go on that first mission."

"Yeah, I think they all are," Zatanna said.

"What about Maria?" Artemis asked, her voice soft from the crying.

"She's doing well," Dick responded, "She's doing better than I expected, actually they all are."

"They're all learning really quickly," Artemis agreed.

"Hey it's in their blood," Wally said with a faint smile, the others smiled as well.

"They're really becoming more than just friends," Zatanna said.

"Right," Dick agreed, "They're becoming teammates."

* * *

Happy Harbor June 10 2032

Dinner had finished around thirty minutes ago and both Leah and Jalen had already gone home. Abby and Maria were still in Maria's room working on the costume design and Cal was in his room, reading as he waited for Abby.

Miles and Lian were all alone in the living room watching a legal show. They sat in silence, each of them on a different couch, as they watched. Miles turned away from the screen and looked at Lian. He watched the way the light flickered across her face as she watched, almost emotionless. If anyone had asked Miles why he was looking at Lian, he wouldn't have known what to say. The only words that came to mind were 'she intrigues me'. She was silent most of the time and only looked really interested during training, where she excelled. They were often paired together as they were the two oldest but she was light-years ahead of him in terms of combat training. And even though he usually lost, he always took his defeat with a smile, because he knew that she had one plastered across her face when it happened, even if it was only for a millisecond. For some reason that smile that she couldn't hide brought out a smile in him as well.

As they episode ended Lian sat up and turned off the TV. She turned to face him and he realized that he'd been looking, no staring, at her for over five minutes. He smiled at her and he saw her lips turn up ever so slightly.

"That was a good episode," Miles said.

"Oh really," Lian said smartly, "Then how did it end?" Miles was speechless trying to remember but he hadn't been paying attention. Lian smiled.

"Okay fine," Miles admitted, "I wasn't paying attention at the end but the rest was good. Don't you think?"

"Yeah, it was alright," Lian agreed. There was an awkward silence where they both just looked away slightly.

"So Lian," Miles said.

"Yeah," Lian interrupted as she looked up at him.

"Uh, uh," Miles muttered, "I forgot what I was gonna say."

"Maybe you hit your head too hard when you fell during training," Lian joked causing Miles to smile.

"Maybe," Miles said as he rubbed his head, "Maybe you could teach me that move?"

"I guess so," Lian shrugged.

"How about right now?" Miles asked.

"Right now?" Lian responded. Miles nodded in reply, "Why not?"

They walked to the gym and started sparring. When Miles went for a kick, Lian dropped to the ground and swept his other leg from under him.

"See it isn't that hard," Lian said, "It's all about timing. You have to wait for your opponent to move their center of balance and then take advantage of that."

"You make it seem so easy," Miles said.

"I don't know, I guess it comes naturally to me," Lian told him, "Why don't you try?"

They began to spar again, Miles made sure to keep his two feet on the ground and when Lian kicked at him he stepped forward and punched her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground.

"Hey," Miles said as he quickly bent over to help her up, "Are you oka-" He never finished that sentence because Lian had tried throw him over her head. Unfortunately his center of gravity was further back than she had expected and the only thing she accomplished was to pull him down on top of her.

"Ow," Lian moaned.

"Sorry," Miles apologized, "But you're the one who pulled me down."

"Didn't expect you to be so heavy," Lian told him. He laughed loudly as he rolled off of her onto the mat. She looked at him as if he was crazy before joining him in his laughter.

A few minutes later they both got up and headed back to the living room. Miles headed to the kitchen for a bottle of water when he saw the time. He ran to the living room and grabbed his bag.

"I gotta go," Miles said, "I didn't realize it was this late."

"Oh okay," Lian said sadly, "Well I'll see you later then."

"Don't you need to go home too?" Miles asked.

"Not yet," Lian replied.

"Okay, well bye," Miles responded.

"Bye," Lian said as she turned the television back on.

* * *

Star City June 11 2032

Lian walked into the apartment. It was well after midnight but she didn't care.

"Dad, I'm home," Lian called out. No answer. She passed by his room and saw the note on the door, 'On patrol won't be home til morning'.

Lian's stomach rumbled, it had been over five hours since dinner and she was getting hungry. She dropped her bag off in her room and headed towards the kitchen. As she turned the corner she saw someone she wasn't expecting.

"Hi Lian. You want a midnight snack?"

"Yeah," Lian said as she took the bread out and the peanut butter, "What are you doing here Mom?"

"What do you mean?" Jade asked, "I'm home."

"You don't get to call it that," Lian said, "You're barely ever here."

"You don't get to talk to me like that Lian," Jade said sternly.

"I can talk to you how ever I want, _Mom_," Lian said as she spread the peanut butter out, "I only see you once a month, if I'm lucky."

"You know why," Jade said angrily.

"I know why," Lian repeated, "I don't understand but I know why. And honestly I don't care. Aunt Artemis and Zatanna take better care of me than you do." Jade winced at that.

"Then why the hostility?" Jade asked.

"Because while I don't care," Lian said, "Dad does. He barely sleeps and he jumps at every noise. The worst part about you leaving? You always come back but you never stay. That's what's destroying him. You give him a little hope that he'll see you and it makes him jumpy. I care about him and I hate seeing him like this. I'm giving you two choices Mom, either you stay here and don't leave again," Lian paused," Or you leave again but this time you don't come back. I don't care which choice you make as long as it's on them." With that she bit into her peanut butter sandwich and walked to her room, leaving Jade in the kitchen by herself.

* * *

**I hope you liked it. It may have been uneventful for the most part but it was necessary. Please review. I would especially like to hear your opinions on the more angsty parts to know if I wrote them well but any reviews are welcome.**


End file.
